The Christian Science Monitor

Vaccine passports: Why Europe loves them and the US loathes them

Back in 1992, Yiannis Klouvas converted an old cinema into the Blue Lagoon restaurant, which garnered a strong reputation for live music. There is no music now. The business, like so many others on the Greek island of Rhodes, is struggling due to the pandemic’s restrictions on travel.

“If we see a tourist on the street these days,” he says, “we take a photo to remember them.”

Mr. Klouvas is now banking on the EU Digital COVID Certificate, also known as the “green passport,” to save the summer. Starting July 1, all EU member states will accept the certificates as proof of COVID-19 vaccination, a recent negative test, or recovery from the disease. The plan got a resounding yes at the European Parliament on June 9. All EU member states,

Europe’s green passportConcern about privacy

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Christian Science Monitor

The Christian Science Monitor5 min readAmerican Government
Trump Vows To Fire Bureaucrats. Here’s Why Biden Is Trying To Stop Him.
For decades, American presidents routinely offered government jobs to political allies – and expected those employees would do their bidding in return. Then in 1881, a campaign supporter who did not win such a favor assassinated President James Garfi
The Christian Science Monitor4 min read
Caregiving Burdens Fall On Women. This Nigerian Woman Wants To Change That.
It’s 7 a.m. on a Monday, and the clamor of automobile engines fills the air, the soundtrack of millions of Lagos residents heading to work. Kindergarten teacher Fatimoh Adeyemi is one of them. But first, she stops in front of a simple white stucco ho
The Christian Science Monitor4 min readInternational Relations
For Moscow, The War In Ukraine Is A Rerun Of World War II
The atmosphere around Victory Day on May 9, a holiday celebrating the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, is always charged with martial fervor and a sense of Russia’s enduring resilience. The intensity almost makes i

Related Books & Audiobooks